Pantheon Online-Chapter 7 - Clairvoyance

Colt trudged through the snow towards the forest as the cold winds howled around him. It only took him a few moments before he began to wish that the game was not so realistic. The cold felt like it was biting at him, and he was starting to feel highly uncomfortable. 'Come on! There has to be something! Where's the beginner quest? Do they really expect us to wander around in rags in these conditions?'

Colt was becoming irritated as he came closer to the forest with each step. He thought that if he began to move and explore, then maybe he would be issued with a quest that could point him in the right direction. However, that idea seemed to be a bust. Being stranded in the snow with no idea of what he should be doing was not his idea of a fun game. 𝙛r𝚎𝐞𝑤𝚎𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝚕.𝒄𝐨𝓂

His skin was slowly turning blue under the frigid temperatures by the time he reached the tree line. He felt a little relieved as the hulking trunks in the forest blocked out most of the wind he had been subjected to. Frozen branches snapped beneath his feet as he continued to push on. 'If I'm a God, then why do I even feel cold in the first place? What kind of logic is that?'

He continued to complain as he began to feel disheartened. It indeed seemed like he had been completely abandoned here. There was no sign of wildlife, NPC's or other players at all! The whole experience so far went against the traditional methods employed in these kinds of games. Although that could be refreshing at times, Colt felt that the developers had botched it this time.

He wandered aimlessly between the trees for around half an hour before he gave up. He collapsed in the snow with a frown on his face as he considered quitting the game and starting over. He had begun to wonder if it was something like a lucky dip. Perhaps the players were thrown to random places in the territory that they chose.

So some might get lucky and start directly in a town or village. While others like himself were thrown to the wilds. The more Colt thought about it, the more he became convinced that this was probably what happened. 'Should I just quit and start over? That'd probably be faster than continuing to search randomly.'

As someone with plenty of experience in RPG's this was the logical conclusion that he came to. However, he felt like it would be a waste since he would lose the time he had already spent here. 'Ugh! Just a little longer then! If I don't find anything soon, I'll just restart.'

As he got to his feet, he heard the sound of soft footsteps on the snow nearby. Colt's heart rate suddenly spiked as his thoughts immediately went to determine if it was caused by something dangerous! Colt quickly pulled up the system and began to search for any starter weapons.

"Damn it! Seriously? What the hell?" Colt muttered in frustration when he realised that he had no items in the system inventory except the rags he was already wearing! The noise grew closer, and Colt instinctively knew that it was from an animal. He leaned his back against the tree next to him in an attempt to hide.

Yet the noise still came closer. Suddenly, a fierce-looking wolf poked its head around the tree and stared directly at Colt's body! His heart skipped a beat in that tense moment as he froze up. He could smell and feel the wolf's hot breath which made him forget that it was only a game. The wolf blinked a few times before moving on. As if it never even saw him!

Colt let out a gasp as the wolf disappeared from his sights. He had not even realised that he had inadvertently held his breath the moment the wolf looked at him! He gasped for air as he tried to figure out why the wolf did not attack him. Did he merely not look good enough to eat?

'Forget it! There's no point wasting time thinking about an animal's behaviour!' Colt scolded himself for freezing up just now. He should have at least lashed out in an attempt to defend himself the moment that he was spotted!

The whole forest suddenly seemed to slightly darken. As if the sun had begun to set or a cloud was passing over it. However, it felt unnatural to Colt for some reason, even though he could not pinpoint why. There was a sudden buzz like static echoing in his ears at that moment. It made Colt wince as if it were painful.

"What's going on now? Is my rig acting up? Or is it a bug?" The static grew louder in his ears, and no matter how he tried to block it out with his hands, it continued to persist. At that moment, a notification popped up in his vision.

[A mortal soul is trying to connect with the gods. Would you like to accept their prayer?]

'What the? Yes! If it stops the static, then yes!' Colt immediately felt relieved as the static slowly faded and was instead replaced with the voice of a young woman.

"Please… If anyone is listening… If the gods really exist… Please help me!" The voice sounded emotional and between sobs as she pleaded.

[Quest: A Cry For Help]

[Find the woman and help her overcome her problem. Rewards: Follower +1]

[Clairvoyance Unlocked]

[Clairvoyance]

[Cost: 0 DP]

[Description: Gain insight into your quest objective.]

Colt frowned as he read the quest notification and what seemed to be a skill description as well. 'This seems a little shady. I've no idea what the situation is in this world yet. How do I know that helping her is actually the right thing to do? Though, it might help me find out where I can find a settlement or something.'

He only hesitated for a moment before he activated Clairvoyance. His vision began to swim in front of his eyes before showing a series of incomplete images…